Say You'll Haunt Me
by SkyeElf
Summary: Anna has a destiny, but it's not what she expected... Only read if you've or are reading Skye Night.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. I own only the OC's.**

**A/N: This is in the same universe as my other two stories, 'Skye Night' and 'The true shifter' – so you might want to read that along with this fic.**

**And this is for muen.**

123

**Say you'll haunt me.**

**Prologue.**

She stood atop a stone on the highest part of the mountain, staring down at the beauty of nature below her. Her house was nearby, part of the local wizarding community, situated at the side of the mountain.

The trees stood proudly, the green leaves moving slightly in the rustling wind. The wind whipped across her face playfully, causing her dark hair to wave in front of her face. She closed her eyes against the irritation, not wanting to hurt her eyes. Eyes are the window to the soul, after all.

Do more eyes mean more windows to more souls? She wonders.

She was waiting, but for what she was still unsure off. An uneasy feeling had crept over her, drawing her to this place.

Anna le Roux was by now measure ordinary. Not even in the wizarding world. She knew she had a destiny – one concerning a man she'd seen in her dreams countless times. One whose appearance she still doesn't know, but she'll know it when she sees it.

She wondered about her best friend, what he was doing right now. He had confided his best kept secret to her. Or should we say secrets? One, his otherworldly powers, two, his sexual preference. Like her, Sage Oberg was no mere normal mortal. He was a shape-shifter – not a traditional one, though. He could transform into a merman – or siren, that was the term he preferred, for he didn't look at all like the merpeople in the Black Lake at Hogwarts.

'CRACK!'

She looked around to the source of the noise. Her best friend stood there, drenched in blood.

"Sage!" She shrieked, running to him. He fell to the forest floor, a bloody mess. She helped him up, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Hi, Anna." He said weakly. "Knew you'd be here." He bent over and vomited blood on the grass.

"Hush up. Let's get back." She said, pulling him with her.

123

**So, there is my prologue. You'd better review this prologue, muen!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: I was supposed to say something here…**

**Anna: Perhaps it's that you don't own Harry Potter?**

**Me: I knew that! *blushes* **Thinks: How stupid am I?

**Chapter 1**

**Anna's POV**

I stared at him. He was sleeping, but at least he wasn't bloody anymore. Not that much, anyways. He gurgled blood from time to time, but that's understandable. Something happened, something horrible.

He stirred.

"Sage?" I said his name softly, not wishing to startle him. His eyes flitted open.

"Anna?" His voice was hoarse.

"Hello, darling." I said, reaching for his hand.

"Where am I?" He asked, his lavender eyes taking in his unfamiliar surroundings.

"In Romania. Don't you remember? You apparated to the mountain outside my house."

"Oh, yeah." He tried to laugh, but it ended up in a coughing fit. I picked up the glass of water from the bedside table and handed it to him. He took it gratefully and gulped it down.

"What happened?" I asked, taking the glass from him and putting it down in its original place.

"I told my parents." He said quietly. I knew exactly what he had felt the need to tell his parents.

"And they did this to you?" I demanded, motioning to his scarred body. His left eye looked disgusting, yellow pus streaming out of it. His wrist was broken, but mum would have to fix that when she and dad came back, for now I'd seen to it the muggle way. I was immensely glad that my stepfather was a doctor, it was him that taught me how to handle a broken bone. I liked hiking in the forest surrounding our house, and I had broken something on a previous occasion, so he thought it good to teach me the essentials.

He's a muggle, mum's a witch. Where the hell my paternal father was, was a mystery to me – one where I didn't wish to be Nancy Drew. If I ever see him again… he'd be on the receiving end of my wand. And I wouldn't hesitate in using an Unforgivable Curse.

My stepfather was my father, my ONLY dad. He'd raised me – and for that I will forever be grateful.

Sage's back was covered in several rather nasty gashes, as if he'd been on the receiving side of a cat-o'-nine-tails, and he had a cracked skull. I had to shave off his beautiful head of hair to be able to clean it. I had been able to fix that, though. Odd how I could fix a cracked skull, but not a broken wrist. I really needed to fix that. He had marks on his neck too, as if someone had tried to strangle him with a nylon rope, there were also burn marks on his wrists, also signs of a ripcord.

"No, not exactly." He averted his eyes. "THEY told me to leave. My bothers on the other hand…"

"What did they do?" I asked, my voice high. Sage was so… quiet. For Sage, I mean. He was such a happy and bubbly person most of the time.

He didn't answer. I squeezed his hand again.

"Sa te bag in pisda matei, Sage! (A/N: Fuck you)What the bloody hell happened to you? You show up at my door, bleeding promiscuously and I am still perfectly oblivious as to why you even showed up here in the first place! Dumnezeu (Damn), you're bleeding ubiquitously! At least tell me who did this to you, mate. I promise not to maim them… entirely…"

He shook his head violently. Something was very wrong here.

"Please, Sage."

He shook his head even more vigorously. He began to sweat profusely.

"Please, Anna, not now." His voice quivered. Now I knew something was wrong.

"Can I liquidate them?" I asked, angry at the older trio.

"And where would that leave me? I need a friend here, not in Azkaban." He tried to laugh again, this time a forced laugh, but immediately regretted it as a fresh surge of blood wanted to make their way out of his mouth.

I gave him the bucket that I'd thought wise to bring with me.

"Thanks." He said hoarsely. I squeezed his hand before removing mine.

"Where are your things? Still there?" I asked, getting up angrily, figuring he'd tell me later. I was angry at him, I was his best friend, and he knew he could trust me! Sage snorted.

"Yeah, I'd definitely take my things to a place I knew I'd be recoiled out of almost instantly. I'm not daft, Annie." He said, wiping his eyes with his robust hand. Had he been crying? I hadn't noticed with the sweat under his eyes.

"Do not call me that heinous word!" I said, mock-glaring at him.

"Annie, Annie, Annie…" He went on. I lifted my wand threateningly. "All right, you win! I won't call you Annie!"

"Good!"

"The sun'll come out, tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow…" He sang – very off key. I glared at him. He smiled at me, amused. His old personality returning. I would've smiled fondly at the bastard, were I not on the verge of breaking a wall in frustration.

"I am not charmed." I said icily, before leaving the room, whilst I still had my dignity.

"You know you love me!" He tried to yell after me, but was overcome by yet another coughing fit.

I wondered what happened… what had the horrible Oberg trio done to their younger brother? I knew they were violent, heartless even – but what had they done? They were known in Italy for the things they'd done. Sage was different from his family; he had a heart and outlooks, whereas they had none. Kill, kill, kill. I sometimes wondered if they weren't related to You-Know-Who. Muggle-haters the lot of them.

It must be horrid to bring Sage close to tears.

For the next few weeks he stayed in the guest bedroom, me and mum taking turn to watch over him and nurse him back to health. His possessions were at Hogwarts, he hadn't packed anything at all. At that time I'd thought it was already on the train. And I didn't question him when he got off the train without his luggage, assuming their servants would get it. The Oberg family was a rich one; that much I knew. His father was a famous wizarding politician, and his mother a regular in social circles. They were the typical pureblood-obsessed family, and their first disappointment was when Sage got sorted into Gryffindor, not Slytherin. Now they found out their youngest son was homosexual. Luckily he didn't tell them about his ethereal abilities. Goodness only knows what would've happened to him then. They abhorred anything weird, which was insulting to the term 'wizard' – because wizardry in its own quintessence is weird.

Mum was able to fix his wrist, but his hair was gone. Which was a pity, because he had had a thick bush of hair, and it had been beautiful. It had fitted him, he had always gelled it, so it was the world's biggest exclamation point.

I didn't tell mum about his freak-out, or about why he was hurt. According to her, he had arrived, we'd gone hiking, he fell. End of story. Whether she believed me or not, I didn't know. I knew that Sage wouldn't want anyone to know, as he went along with the lie.

Sometimes he awoke at night, screaming. Nightmares.

I didn't know what to do, so I just sat with him. He refused to look at me at such times.

123

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" I asked him one night. We were sitting at the dining table, partaking in a friendly game of wizards' chess. Sage sighed and gave his knight instruction to take my pawn.

"What do you think, Annie?" He leered.

"It's Anna, and I'm guessing no."

"You guess correctly. Anna, I just don't want to talk about it." He said, smirking at the loss of my pawn.

"Well, we tell one another entirety, Sage, why not nowadays?" I demanded, telling my castle to cross the board. "Check."

"Damn." He searched the board for an escape patch. He moved his king. Good, just as I'd planned. I gave my queen instruction to near his king.

"Check mate." My queen climbed of her chair and swung it at his king.

He slammed the table, laughing.

"No fair!"

"I win!" I giggled, throwing my arms in the air.

"Hey, Annie, would you do me a favor?" He asked, leaning over to me. Lavender eyes imploring.

"What?" I asked, leaning in too. I was planning on flicking his nose the first chance I got.

"Kiss me."

I withdrew. "Say what now?"

"Sorry." He blushed. "But I've been thinking… Maybe I am NOT gay." The last part was said softly. "And it's not like it'll be your first kiss, will it?"

I looked down.

"No way! Not a pretty girl like you!" He leaned back, his shoulders shaking with hilarity.

"You know full well that I think most guys are total idiots and, besides, I won't let a guy kiss me unless he's worth it and deserves me."

"So you say I don't deserve you?" He asked, pouting.

"Not at all, Sage, it's just that you ARE gay. Trust me." I patted his shoulder and stood up, heading to the kitchen. He stood up and followed me.

"How can you be so sure?" He asked imploringly.

"I just am, Sage. Tell me, am I pretty?" I asked, opening the fridge and getting out the milk.

He looked taken aback for a moment.

"Of course I think you're attractive, Annie."

"Exactly, you think I'm 'attractive'. That's not a term any normal guy would use." I replied, pouring milk into two glasses he'd gotten out.

He looked at me, disbelieving.

"I think there are guys that use that term." He frowned slightly. I sipped my milk.

"Possibly – but trust me, okay?" I took another sip.

"Of course I do, Anna." He answered, gulping down his milk. He looked better now, and in two days, when we would return to Hogwarts, I would be able to hide it with some concealer.

"But not enough to tell me what happened?"

"I'm sorry, Anna, but I'm just not ready to talk about it."

I glared at him and set mu glass down loudly on the table.

"Good night, Sage."

I swung around and trudged up the stairs.

**123**

**A/N: So… that button down there looks incredibly inviting, doesn't it?**

**That goes especially for you, muen!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N; Thanks to my reviewers. Too many to name.**

**Chapter 2: Nightmares**

**Anna's POV**

I woke up to yells again. Sage was having a nightmare again. This was routine, but he needed to really talk to someone. This couldn't go on. We were returning to Hogwarts today. I walked down the hall, wrapping my gown around me tightly.

His door was ajar, suddenly being afraid of the dark. What had those horrible boys done to him?

I patted him gently on the shoulder.

He sat up, his sheets sticky with sweat. His arms immediately went around me as he pulled me into his lap.

"Honestly, Sage. This has got to stop."

He pulled away and blinked at me.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly, his hands lifted from my waist.

"It doesn't bother me, Sage, but it might bother the boys in Gryffindor Tower. What if one of them wake you?"

"I'll handle it, Anna. Sorry for waking you."

I waved my hand in the air, telling him it's fine.

"Are you going to tell me? As in, ever?" I asked, standing up from his lap.

"I can't, Anna." He said, looking down. I sighed and bent down, forcing him to look at me.

"I love you, Sage. But you're hopeless."

He smiled guiltily at me.

"I know."

123

Sage and I went through the barrier at King's Cross, and the train met us, it blew steam up in the air. The warning bell sounded.

"All aboard!"

Sage and I hurried, dragging our trunks with us.

This year I'd find her. I'd made it my mission. The Empress of Shape-Shifters – Skye Night, and make her understand us.

Near our house in Romania, there was a long-forgotten battlegrounds. I'd found scrolls there, hidden from view, but I was a hiker, therefore I was able to find hiding places. I was only able to access one scroll, the others were protected by some very powerful and unknown magic. To me, at least. And I hated being kept in the dark. I hated not knowing stuff. I was a clever girl – that much I knew, but I didn't show it off like Granger did. That girl truly irked me with her attitude to always one-up her classmates.

The scroll spoke of a group of freaks, shall we say. The biggest freak being the Empress. It told me the story of each of us, sort of. I couldn't decipher all of it, but maybe she would be able to.

What I could figure out, though, was enough.

First the Emperatiz and the Bruxo Guerreiro would meet, and at a young age. Their relationship would grow until they finally fell in love.

The destiny bearer would deliver the cards to the Empress, and she would know who we were.

The Certo Metamorfisme would be the first they meet. Then, lastly, the two of us.

I tried to get to her last year, but I couldn't Circumstances prevented me. I guess we weren't supposed to meet yet.

There was also a tale of a traitor in the prophecies. A traitor to the Dark Side, that is.

There she was!

The Emperatiz de Metamorfisme. I sped up towards her.

"Hey! Wait up!" I yelled. She looked around wildly, had someone called her?

I neared her and threw my arms around her in a tight hug.

"Anna, lighten up, you're suffocating her." The annoyed voice of Sage said. I pulled away and smiled at her.

"You should realize that you should never regret something that once made you smile." I said, not knowing why, really. Her green eyes scrutinized me, and recognition flooded into them.

"I'm Anna le Roux." I introduced myself, offering a hand. She took it, smiling. She was already warming up to me.

"I'm…" She started, but I interrupted her.

"Skye Night, I know. I came to Hogwarts last year, but you weren't here for the majority of the time, and when you came back you were always so sad… and then Dumbledore died, and the coma…"

"Anna, you're babbling." Sage reprimanded me.

"Sorry," I blushed, "I'm just excited to meet you. And I know that you know what and who I am. Xenio Mito."

"You're right." She smiled. "What year are you in?"

"Seventh. I'm a Ravenclaw." I answered proudly. Sage cleared his throat. I looked him over to him. "This is Sage Oberg, also a seventh year."

"Or Sabio Triton." She said. I smiled inwardly – she knew of us. All of us. "You're name suits you." She went on. I presumed she was talking about 'Sage' and 'Sabio' both meaning 'Wise.'

"Thank you." He leered shyly.

"Would you like to join us in our compartment?" Skye's companion asked us. We nodded eagerly. "We're just looking for my brother, all right?"

Skye smiled at him

"Is that him?" Sage asked, pointing inside the next compartment.

"Yes, yes it is." She said, and she entered, her blonde friend, who I knew to be one Draco Malfoy, let her go in first.

"You found the rest of them, didn't you?" A voice said. "Come on in, guys."

I went in. I saw a boy with long, brown hair on one side next to the window. He stared at the passing landscapes. I then looked at the other person in the compartment.

Where had I seen him before?

He had long, silver hair… it reached his waist and was folded around his middle in his sitting position. His eyes shone brightly, their tawny color speaking of a lifetime of struggle. He was a veela, and I bet even the other veela were jealous of him. He shone light into the room, only to have it extinguished by the light Skye had. He respected her, loved her and would protect her, even if it meant his own life. He was glad there was someone to draw the attention away from him.

Skye was a very pretty girl, and saying 'pretty' was an understatement. She had long, dark brown hair than ended just below her shoulders, with eyes that were this light, light green, it was a haunting color. And the fact that her irises were surrounded by a black ring, made the color stand out even more. She was curvy, an hour-glass figure many would kill for.

"Laud, this is Anna. Anna, my brother." She introduced us. He stood up and shook my hand. The skin tingled for a day after he touched me.

"Morning." He greeted gaily.

"And this is Zane." She went on. The boy from the window looked around and waved at us. I looked around at Sage, he merely nodded at the boy.

"Sorry, guys, Zane doesn't talk." Skye said awkwardly.

"Close the door." Laud said, looking at Sage. Sage did as he was told, and sat down between Skye and Zane. That left me to sit between Draco and him. Gosh.

"Draco? A silencing charm if you will." Laud asked politely. The latter wove his wand at the door. "Xenio Mito, Certo Metamorfisme, Sabio Triton, Bruxo Guerreiro and Emperatiz de Metamorfisme."

He looked at all of us in turn, his gaze on me a second longer than the others. "Anna and Sage, you already know you're Empress – don't question me. Zane, you met her a few days ago. And Draco – you've known her longest. Each of you has a destiny, one which I shall reveal partially. Skye, you know yours. You saw it, even I don't know it."

She nodded to him, her usually happy face slightly downcast. I looked at Draco – what was between these two? I mean, I knew they were dating and was destined to fall in love, but what was between these two went deeper.

"Zane saw his by the giving of his card. Skye, will you do the honors?" He went on. She stood up and gave each of us a card. It looked like a tarot card, but I was on it, my title displayed on it.

"Sage and I have known about this for a long time, actually." I told her. "I tried to get to you last year; it was just a little difficult."

"I understand. Sage, what house are you in?" She asked politely.

"I'm in Gryffindor." He said softly. Zane wrote something on a parchment and handed it to him.

"Can we get back to fate?" Laud interrupted. We fell silent. Laud took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"_To the Empress of Light: _

_You've misunderstood,_

_To her lover and knight:_

_For her you'll have to fight,_

_For a life of liberty is in your might._

_To the true one among you,_

_Your deepest fear is wrong,_

_Don't severe family ties, that's not the thing to do,_

_Cling to them, hold them close, always anon._

_To the educator's pet and the centaur girl,_

_Give him, whom you choose, not a twirl,_

_Cherish him, love him, until the earth ceases to whirls._

_To the shy boy,_

_Your love is your foe,_

_If you do not accept it,_

_You'll be thrown into woe."_

He recited it perfectly. He opened his eyes.

"Don't tell me what I just said, I do not wish to know." He said firmly, pursing his lips. "I just had to do that – it felt… right…"

"Thanks, Laud." Skye said distractedly. I saw him glance at her and nod sharply. He turned around to look out the window, but his expression in his reflection showed me he was troubled.

He knew. He knew that I had seen him somewhere… and he'd seen me, too.

"Sir?" I said, drawing his attention, deciding that perhaps talking to him would make me recall.

"Yes?" He turned around.

"What position are you teaching?" I asked.

"I'm not a teacher just yet, I'm an apprentice for the Potions Master."

"Cool." I replied, "Do you like potions?"

"I'm a veela, Miss, I adore potions. It's one of the only wizarding things I can actually manage." He said with a nervous laugh.

"I thought you didn't look normal." I said, then quickly added: "No offence meant."

Laud laughed heartily.

"Thanks for that." He widened his eyes slightly in an exasperated way as he said it.

I shook my head and let it fall into my hands.

Draco sniggered inaudibly. Skye glared at him, but it soon evaporated into a look of adoration.

"I mean… you… you're quite… pretty…" I said, a little awkwardly. I mentally chastised myself, usually I was not at a loss for words, and not around the male population. They normally assumed I was stupid, therefore I never shut up around them. And now I was at a loss for words.

"Well, I WOULD have preferred the term handsome, but pretty works fine too."

Skye giggled from across me. I wanted to glare at her, but just couldn't. I'd watched her in class, and she was always full of laughs. Well, except for the last part of the previous schoolyear, but it seemed that was fixed now.

Draco got up and kneeled in front of her. They whispered a few words to one another before he started to get up, capturing her lips with his. As he pulled away she smiled and stood up, not allowing him to escape that easily.

I watched them. Not because it was fun, because it wasn't. Out of jealousy. It was obvious these two cared for one another, more than simply a teenage romance. Her hand was in his hair, and something glinted on it. A ring. The way he held her, his one hand in her hair and the other just above her bum. He wasn't groping her, he was simply holding her possessively, sending me a message that she was _his_, no one else's.

See? These two were so certain of their feelings that they'd gotten engaged. I made a mental note to ask them about it later.

123

Zane, as it turned out, was a new kid. A sixth year. He was sorted into Gryffindor, and he sat next to Sage.

"Hello, Anna." An airy voice greeted me.

"Hi, Luna." I greeted her without looking around. I was waiting anxiously for the speech to begin, though why I didn't know.

"How was your summer?"

"Eventful, and yours?"

"It was all right. I think Blaise's parents are warming up to me."

I smiled and finally looked away from the sorting. The fact that Loony Lovegood was dating Blaise Zabini made her an even bigger outcast than she already was.

"Why do you say that?"

"They invited me to stay Christmas with their family, and daddy, of course."

"That's fantastic, Luna."

"I saw you with Skye today."

"Oh?"

"I don't pretend to know what's going on, Anna, but you need to make sure Skye's protected. There are bigger enemies out there." She said lightly, looking bored at the sorting.

"How do you know all of this, Luna?"

"I just do." She shrugged.

"You're freaking me out."

"That's perfectly normal." She smiled a slight smile. I couldn't help but laugh silently.

123

The next day, in Transfiguration class, Professor Snape came to get Skye. They talked outside the class for a while, then yells could be heard.

"I'm sorry to inform you, Professor, but what I do with my personal life is not up to you!" Her voice could probably be heard throughout the whole school.

"Miss Night, you are a student of this school, and therefore you are under my rules! You will break off this silly engagement at once! You are far too young to make such a decision!" His voice wasn't raised, but it did hold command.

"My mother and Draco's parents approve, so I don't give a damn about what you think!"

"You should, Miss Night!"

"Dumbledore wouldn't have minded, you big nitwit! He understood love!"

"What you and that boy feel for eachother is not love!"

That seemed to be the last draw for Skye, as the door burst open and she trudged back into the class. Snape appeared in the doorway, glaring as ever. Skye wheeled around.

"You have no fucking idea what you're talking about! You're a poor excuse for a headmaster - and I sincerely hope the basilisk is resurrected!"

The basilisk resurrected? I'd have to ask her about that.

"Detention, Miss Night, my office." With that he turned heel and walked away. Skye watched him go, her eyes scrunched slightly – she was bloody well amused!

There was an awkward silence in the class, everyone was staring at Skye. She noticed this, and swung around, looking at Professor McGonagall.

"I'm sorry, Professor." She said, appropriately teary eyed. I was definitely missing something here.

The lesson continued as if there had been no interruption. The others kept staring at her. She'd taken on Severus Snape, she'd INSULTED him – and survived? Good gods, how did she manage that?

Draco was sitting near me, and he was failing on showing absolute shock on his face. It looked more like he was trying not to laugh. I shook my head at him before slapping him across the head, he glared at me. Good, now he had a real frown.

The bell rang. Put my things calmly into my bag, feeling the need to keep calm while Skye was stuffing it angrily into her bag.

"Miss Night, a word?" McGonagall said, it wasn't a question – her tone of voice said as much.

"Yes, ma'am." She smiled at the professor.

"I'll wait for you outside." Draco whispered to her, flashing a smile. I felt a twinge of jealousy, but not of Draco. But of them together. I'm seventeen, and I haven't even had my first kiss.

Sage and I walked out of the class together, and waited for Draco. We decided to wait for Skye, too.

"What just happened? And ten points from Slytherin for using foul words in my classroom!" McGonagall yelled.

Skye answered, but her voice was muffled. She was speaking through gritted teeth.

"He's your father! Are you saying you don't support him?"

Snape was what?

Draco banged his head against the wall.

"McGonagall has absolutely no tact." He said, rolling his eyes. Sage snickered next to me, shaking his head.

"…you're against him?"

"I thought that much would be painfully obvious. And I'll rebel against him, just because I can. And nothing you, he or any of the other members of staff do will discourage me." Skye was determined, it seemed.

"I wouldn't try to stop you, nor COULD I. I can do nothing against your wishes, you know that you are the empress." Did that mean McGonagall was perhaps a shape-shifter?

"Good." Skye said coldly.

"But are you sure about the detention he gave you? It's not as it was in your first few years here anymore."

"I'll be able to handle him, ma'am." Skye's voice held a smirk.

She exited the classroom and saw us. We started to walk in the direction of the dungeons for Potions class. I had kept that elective, Potions was not my best subject, but I still did good. Skye had this natural knack for the subject, but in light of recent events, I now understand why.

"We heard all of it." I said matter-of-factly. Skye's eyes widened.

Oh, so you heard about… you know, Bat being my…" Her voice trailed off.

"Yeah, yeah, we do. You kinda have to explain that." I looked pointedly at her as she stopped.

"I know, I know. But, I'll do it later." She said, looking at the Potions class door.

I nodded in understanding as we entered. We found a table together. I noticed the other Gryffindors looked suspiciously at Sage. At first I wondered why, then I remembered that both Skye and Draco were Slytherins. I picked up my bag and started searching for my textbook.

"I wonder how Zane's keeping up." Sage mused aloud. He looked around at us sharply. "Did I just say that out loud?"

I continued to take books out of my bag and stacked them neatly on one another. "Yes, yes, you did."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw him blush.

What wasn't he telling me? Besides what had happened, I mean.

My thoughts were interrupted.

"Good morning, class." Slughorn greeted us. "I trust you all know our new apprentice, Professor Night."

I guess I was expected to look up, but I refused. Laud… Professor Night just had this thing that made me feel weird. As if I'd seen him somewhere, but I couldn't remember where or when. I hated not knowing.

"Today we will be attempting make a sleeping draught. Just like the beginning of last year, the winner will be awarded a prize." Slughorn announced. I stiffened and looked at my three companions. We were all shape-shifters, and shape-shifters were allergic to this certain potion.

"What is the prize, sir?" Seamus asked him.

"A surprise, Mr. Finnigan." Professor Night answered, a secretive smile playing around his lips. "One worth your trouble."

"Do you always have to be so dramatic, brother dear?" Skye asked loudly. He chuckled good-naturedly.

"Yes, sister dearest, I have to be dramatic. And, as your older brother, I also you have to embarrass you."

"Don't you dare!" She laughed in a mixture between amusement and disapproval.

"Miss Night… oh, I can't believe I didn't see it before!" Slughorn exclaimed. "He's your brother! You have the same last name, and all…"

"Sir, we would like to start on our potion." I interrupted Slughorn's rant. "I'd like to pass my Potions NEWT's and we can't full well do that with you jabbering on about people you supposedly know."

He looked shocked at me, I smirked at him.

"Hear, hear." Draco said softly. Skye and I giggled.

"Right…" Professor Night broke the silence awkwardly. "I'd like for all of you to call me on my name, as I am not a proper professor – and I'm rather close to your age and if you call me sir, it'd be just weird."

Oh, I thought I was the only one to notice that.

"Oh, good, because after a summer of living in the same house as you, calling you that would be weird." Blaise piped up.

"Yes, honorary brother, that is why I brought the rule in." Laud said grandly. Now I didn't have to feel guilty in calling him on his name.

We were given the instructions and started. Our table ended up working together. Skye read the instructions, Draco got the ingredients, I chopped it up and Sage added it into the cauldron. We took turns in stirring clockwise, anti-clockwise and in every other direction we could think of. Skye's textbook had scribbles all over it, though when I leaned in to read it, she snapped it shut. I glared at her, she chuckled and opened it again.

"Dad's book." She shrugged, as if it was self-explanatory.

The sleeping draught was now coming on brilliantly, and we just needed a phial to put it in. I went to get it while my friends added the finishing touches to the potion. Once I'd returned, I scooped it up and took it Slughorn. He didn't look happy with me, but I really didn't care

As I made my way back again, I noticed Laud standing behind Skye. They were mocking one another. I looked at the ground, and what happened next wasn't planned at all. It happened as if in slow-motion.

I bumped the table, the cauldron, still filled with sleeping draught, was swinging dangerously until it finally spilled on the four behind the table.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so so so sorry!" I shrieked, running around the table to see if they were all right.

"Skye, look! There's goo in your hair!" Sage boomed, pointing at Skye's head. She lifted a hand and felt it.

"Well, heehee… I'm kinda covered in goo…" She started to giggle non-stop and fell to the floor, before plucking out a banana from who-knows-where and started to vigorously salsa with it. She peeled it as if to give it arms and then threw it into the air. She couldn't catch it in time, so she burst out in tears at the sight of the squished banana, screaming out "Why? Why?" to me. As if it was my fault the banana was crushed.

"Goo goo goo goo… that's a funny word… goo goo goo…" Draco chuckled. "I just thought of a new song! Go goo-goo! Yeah! Yeah! Go goo-goo! Moo-moo! Cows moo-moo! We floo-floo! Yeah! Yeah! Go goo-goo! Ghost go boo-boo! Mummy kisses my boo-boo! Yeah! Yeah! Go, go goo-goo! " He turned around and swayed his hips in tune with the song. One hand above his head, cowboy-style, he moved it as if he was swinging a lasso.

Laud was just standing there, blinking. His long silver hair, unmoving, and his amber eyes not moving. Then he burst out in tears, wailing. He fell to the floor and started hitting the floor with his fists. He banged his head on the floor, his silver hair moving with him.

"No! Why did she have to die? She didn't deserve it! No! Why? Why!"

Was he referring to the crushed banana?

"I'm gay!" Sage yelled from his frozen position behind the desk.

Every eye turned to him.

"What?" One of the Gryffindor boys said. Sage blushed and started to giggle uncontrollably.

"Mr. Finnegan, I think you should go get the school nurse." Professor Slughorn said.

Oh, my, gosh, WHAT HAD I DONE?

"What is going in here?" A drawling voice behind me said. I jumped around, Professor Snape had entered the classroom.

"It's my fault, sir, you see… I was merely distracted; I was gazing at the floor, when I adventitiously collided with our cauldron, sending its constituents flying towards Skye and the others, thus leaving them in such a befuddled state of lunacy. I apologize profusely, sir, for any inconvenience my abhorrent equilibrium may have caused." I stumbled over my words. He raised an eyebrow to me.

"It is quite all right, dear." Slughorn piped up, looking fearfully at Snape. "Mr. Finnigan has gone to fetch the school nurse, Severus."

"Very well. Miss le Roux, you are to accompany them to Hospital Wing; tell Madam Pomfrey to run diagnostics on you, perhaps your… objectionable equipoise put you yourself in vulnerability."

He used big words – just like me! I hid a smile from him.

"Yes, sir."

Snape glanced around the room, his eyes lingering on Skye for a second more than the others.

"Did you challenge the students to make a Sleeping Draught, Professor Slughorn?" He asked, and his voice was dangerously soft.

"Why, yes, I did, Professor Snape… how could you tell?" Slughorn seemed surprised. Boy, was he stupid.

"I'm a Potions Master." He sneered. "You should go through the trouble of checking your students' documentations before determining arrangements like this. Coincidentally, all three students are terribly allergic to crushed flobberworm, as is our new Professor. I advise that if and when, in future, you make such a drastic decision as you did today, confer with me first or consult your students' files, as I've already said."

"Snapey!" Skye sang, dancing up to him. He held his composure.

"Are you talking to me, Miss Night?" He asked in monotone.

"Have you got a banana?" She asked brightly. I wanted to hit my head with the nearest thing. I picked it up, realized it was a book and carefully put it back again. Books are sacred.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Night." He said.

This little fact didn't seem to bother Skye, as she wheeled around and grabbed my hand.

"Dance with me!" She shrieked. She wanted me to do what?

123

I hurried to the headmaster's study, Madame Pomfrey had let me go, I was fine. My friends on the other hand… Not so much…

"Password?" The gargoyle asked me. Holy shit, I didn't know the password!

"Merlin's beard!" I said aloud. To my immense surprise the gargoyle jumped out of the way to reveal a spiral staircase.

I heard whistling from the office, not really thinking about it, I opened the door. Professor Snape was bent low over parchment – and the whistling was coming from his pouted mouth.

"I'm afraid." I said, clearly teasing him. His head snapped up sharply.

"Can I help you, Miss le Roux?" He asked evenly, setting down his quill.

"McGonagall called Skye back. She said you were Skye's dad." I said, not knowing how to actually start this conversation. He didn't reply, which I took as a good sign. And a confirmation. "I know I shouldn't be eavesdropping in, but we were waiting for Skye when McGonagall had called her back…" I said, yet again stumbling over my words. I took a deep breath. "Don't worry, sir. I won't tell anyone, but I think you need to talk to Professor Night."

"What about, Miss le Roux?"

"A prophecy he gave us. I think both of us have seen what Skye is."

"What would that be, Miss le Roux?"

"She is the most powerful thing in our universe."

I went on to explain to him about Travelers, what they were and how Skye had one. At first he didn't believe me, but after Dumbledore yelled out "I understand!", he weighed the possibilities. He sent for Laud, who was there rather soon.

He refused to look at me again, and now I was not only confused, but hurt. How dare he!

He recited the prophecy to Professor Snape, and he also explained to him that my theory was correct. I handed the scroll I'd found in the summer over to Snape, who took it and hid it in a compartment behind Dumbledore's portrait.

"Really, Severus, all this need for secrecy?" Dumbledore chastised him as if he was a schoolboy.

"I learned from the best, Albus." Snape sneered.

"Well played, Severus. That had been a low blow."

"Just repaying the favor for all those years ago."

Laud and I looked at one another with a confused expression, but he quickly looked away again. I'd corner him soon.

After all was said and done, Snape just stared.

"Promise me you won't tell Skye." He said, his voice held absolutely no emotion, nor did his face.

"But, Severus, see reason…" laud began.

"I said no, Laud." He'd gotten up from his seat. "I will be the one to tell her, and only when the moment represents itself."

Laud hung his head.

"She'll hate you for it." He said softly.

"Then it's my problem, now, isn't it?" Snape retorted, his voice for once not the drawling sound, but one dipped in fear.

"Sir…" I began, only to be interrupted.

"Are we clear?" He punctuated each word carefully.

"Yes, sir." I answered.

"Yes, Sev."

Snape waved his hand, dismissing us.

Laud let me go first down the stairs, _as any other man would do_ I reminded myself. It's mere manners.

"Why won't you look at me?" I asked him when we were out of earshot. He had been staring at the floor the whole time.

"Sorry?" He asked, not looking up.

"Why won't you look at me?"

He looked at me.

"I do look at you."

"Yes, but you don't enjoy it."

He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Why on earth wouldn't I enjoy looking at you?"

"Because I'm perhaps ugly?"

"Please. You? Ugly? If you're ugly, Skye's an idiot."

"Are you calling your own sister an idiot?"  
>"No, Miss Le Roux, I'm not. Quite the opposite."<p>

"Anna."

"What?"

"My name's Anna. If I have to call you Laud, then you have to call me Anna."

He stared at me as if I was insane.

"You're not serious?"

"Oh, quite the contrary." I said, mocking him. "Now, why won't you look at me?"

"You saw the scrolls." He said simply. "You know what they say."

"I know some of it. I couldn't decipher all of it, _sir_."

"You couldn't decipher it?" He asked, frowning.

"Not all of it, just the part of the final five and the traitor."

He smirked. "Oh, yes, the traitor."

"Professor, are you the Destiny bearer?"

"Yes, yes I am. Just as you are Xenio Mito, we all have a purpose." He said, reminding me of Luna.

"But what exactly is my destiny? I don't understand. Your prophecies made it partially open to us, but I still don't get it."

"You're not supposed to get it, Miss Le Roux." He said. "If we know what waits tomorrow, would we be excited about it?"

"Are you implying that you know what's going to happen tomorrow?" I asked, my voice starting to rise.  
>"If anyone should you should, seeing the creature you can phase into and all." He said arrogantly, his upper lips turning into a sneer. "You're the centaur here – I know nothing! Is that right?"<p>

"Dumnezue! You're the Destiny bearer! How can you expect me to know what's going to happen? Or do I have some sort of inner eye?"

"Well if did have one, it would be my deepest wish to poke it!"

"And here I thought you were a decent professor!" I sneered at him. His face was inches from mine.

"Well, surprise!" He spat at me. I narrowed my eyes. His expression changed into a strange one, as if he was torn. "Get out of my sight!"

My breath caught in my throat.

Laud glared at me with such hatred that it burn into my soul. "Didn't you hear me? I set get out of my sight! Fuck off!"

I brought my hand up and swiped it across his face. Angry tears started to burn in my eyes.

"What have I ever done to you?" I demanded. "I just met you and your being a fucking idiot!"

"Get away!" His voice echoed through the hall, holding so much power, but only succeeding in making me angrier. I whipped out my wand and pointed it at him.

"_Densuago!_"

With that I turned heel and ran, back to Ravenclaw Tower.

123


End file.
